This article, originally posted April 16, 2013, was updated May 8, 2013, May 10, 2013, and May 26, 2013. Scroll to the end for the updates.

If you are a fan of cutting edge horror/zombie fiction, spy adventure/mystery thrillers, or both, this post is a whole lot of WIN for you!

Pictured above is a copy of my book, Zombies of Byzantium. If I say so, it’s a really awesome book…it just got another 5-star review on Amazon, and a lot of folks are talking about it.

I’m giving away a copy–in fact, that exact copy–with a personalized autograph. For free. I’ll send it anywhere in the world, no cost to you. But in order to qualify, something else has to happen first.

See, I’m also writing a serial. It’s called The Armored Satchel and it’s live right now on JukePop serials. It’s totally free to read. You’ll want to start here (Chapter 1), but you’ll need to sign in to JukePop (or create an account) to read beyond chapter 1. As of this writing, there are four chapters. The Armored Satchel is an action/adventure spy mystery taking place in German-held Europe during World War II. It’s the adventures of a young man, Max, who starts out as a simple dishwasher and ends up in the middle of a complex web of international intrigue, thanks to the contents of a very unusual briefcase. In the course of four chapters we’ve had a high-speed car/plane chase, explosions galore, a plank-walking and a spectacular train crash. Suffice it to say there’s never a dull moment!

The Armored Satchel is inspired very loosely by a true story.

The thing is, JukePop serials works by voting. Readers who like a particular story can vote for it. (You can vote once per chapter). The writers of the most popular serials on the site get paid cash prizes. Right now The Armored Satchel has 31 votes. That’s respectable for a new serial (it just went up March 26), but that’s still not enough.

So here’s the deal.

When The Armored Satchel gets at least 100 votes on JukePop Serials, I will post here (and on my Twitter, and my Facebook page) a trivia question. The question will be about some minor detail in one of the chapters of The Armored Satchel. The first person to answer the trivia question–whether in the comments here, or on Twitter, or on Facebook–will win the autographed copy of Zombies of Byzantium!

It’s as simple as that! You greatly increase your chances of winning by clicking on The Armored Satchel and voting on each chapter so we get to 100 votes quicker. It would be even better if you spread the link to The Armored Satchel to your friends and followers and ask them to vote too–the JukePop site makes it easy to tweet or post the links to Facebook. (And it’s free). But remember, I don’t autograph Zombies of Byzantium until it gets over the 100 vote threshold.

We’re already nearly a third of the way there. If everybody pitches in, we should be at 100 votes before too long, especially if you tweet/post the link to others.

And who knows…you might even get hooked on the story itself!

Check back here for more updates. I’ll let you know how the voting goes and how close we are to releasing the trivia question.

As of now, The Armored Satchel is at 88 votes! A large number of votes have come in just in the last 24 hours. They’re coming in by batches of 8, and as it’s now up to Chapter 8, that means new fans are discovering the serial and voting on all chapters!

Only 12 more votes before I release the trivia question and get ready to give away a copy of Zombies of Byzantium! So if you haven’t voted yet, please do. This will be my first giveaway/contest on this blog, so I’m excited!

Update II: 10 May 2013

You did it! The Armored Satchel reached 100 votes! That means it is time for… ~~~~~~~~~~~~ (drum roll) ~~~~~~~~~~~ The trivia question!

Here’s the question:

What is Max’s sister’s name?

If you know the answer, fill out this form. Or, @ me on Twitter or post it as a reply on the Facebook page where I reference this post!

Name(required)

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What is Max's sister's name?(required)

The first correct answer I receive wins the book!

Update III: 26 May 2013

The book has been won and the contest is over. But stay tuned, there may be another one!